“If the photographer is interested in the people in front of his lens, and if he is compassionate, it’s already a lot. The instrument is not the camera but the photographer.” — Eve Arnold

Every one can imagine an image in his or her mind, but very few can capture this image through the lens of the camera. People generally think that owning a camera makes a person a photographer, but it is not always the case. It needs pure dedication along with proper training

That being said, architectural Photography is altogether a different dimension and Ashish Bhonde is a successful photographer and a prominent leader in the architectural space.

Initial Journey

Being from a typical Indian family, the idea of Ashish giving up engineering and pursuing fine arts was difficult for his family to accept. After convincing his parents, he had to face the pressure induced by the society. It is expected for a boy to be an engineer or marketing expert and a girl to become a doctor or a teacher. There was indeed a need for strong will and dedication for Ashish to prove himself. Soon he joined the prestigious Sir J.J. Institute Of Applied Arts in Mumbai.

Another challenge came into Ashish’s way when he joined the college. People generally expect photography students to come from a financially strong background. During his college days, he was the only student without a camera. He worked part-time as a freelance graphic designer & assistant set designer to learn and earn at the same time. Whenever he wanted to complete his assignments and practicals, he borrowed a camera from his classmates.

Still working on his skills with utmost dedication and everlasting courage, Ashish completed his degree. He later joined an ace fashion and celebrity photographer in India, Mr. Avinash Gowariker as an assistant. He proved himself by breaking the stereotypes and misconceptions regarding a career in fine arts. Here, not only did he learn technicalities of advertising and fashion photography but also the process of running a studio, business ethics and client handling.

Growing through Dedication

For the past 10 years, Ashish has been growing each day. Today, he is a famous photographer in the central part of the country. Due to his exemplary work, he has gained a huge amount of respect and appreciation. He has a good clientele  all over India which also includes a few sectors handled by the government of India.

After he started working for Mr. Gowariker, he received an opportunity to work with various film celebrities, fashion designers and advertising professionals. He made a breakthrough when he received a national award for Architectural Photography in 2010. His photographs were further exhibited in London.

At the same time, he was selected for the Jagriti Yatra with a full scholarship by the Indian Ministry Of External Affairs. Jagriti Yatra was a unique world’s largest train journey that took 250 youngsters selected from around the world to build up entrepreneur skills and spirit.

Later in the year 2012, Ashish started his own small studio named Acuity Advertising Photography in Nagpur. From this point of time, his actual professional journey started. It was not so easy for him to get business in those days. But with constant efforts and dedication, soon he got recognized as a well-known architectural photographer in central India.

While working in the field of architecture for more than a decade, Ashish  learned the art of creating the best pieces of photography. Through the years, he  understood the design concept followed by accessing the site and preparing the outline of the project. A few important aspects for such photography is the place, surroundings, environment, design philosophy and elements, lighting and weather conditions.

When it comes to commercial assignments, the client expects a technically perfect image with proper lighting. Along with it, a specific designed vector or space should also be covered, so that they can use it for their promotional activities.

While initiating the discussion with the client, Ashish and his team focus on their requirements. The post-editing on the images is the most important task for any assignment. As he gives inputs of various technicalities of photography along with post-processing inputs to get the best picture.

The edited images, in turn, are given proper color treatment, perspective correction, clearing out the distortion in the image, etc then sending it to the client for the screening. Ashish says, “With the guidance and mentoring of my clients, I understood the concepts of architecture and its elements. I would like to extend my warm wishes and gratitude towards them and all those people who are a part of this journey and have made it possible for me so far. Since then, my journey continues till today.”

Exceptional Achievements

• National Award for Architectural Photography by India Future Of Change, India (2011)
• Exhibited in India Business Forum, London Business School, London (2011).
• Nominated for the Communication Arts Guild Award for the photo series Yoga (2009).
• Best material shoot award by All India Photo Trade & Industry Association, Mumbai (2008).

Apart from this, Ashish’s work has been featured in Surfaces Reporter, Architectural Digest, Society Interiors, Architectural & Builder’s Magazine, Architecture + Design.

Ashish’s work has also been featured in Inside Outside, 50 Beautiful Houses in India, NDTV Design & Architecture Award, Journal of Indian Institute of Architects, Decorama, Foaid, Glitz Architecture Magazine, etc.

Source of Inspiration

Exploration and extensive traveling are the most important aspects to perceive different cultures, develop visual senses and to help in communication studies. One should always try to seek as much knowledge as possible Ashish believes.

Ashish says, “My Mantra of success: Be a good learner, explorer and experimental.” He finds his inspiration in nature, and it is evident in his assignments and personal work. This is because Ashish finds a realistic element surrounding a human’s life and habitat. He then visualizes it into a frame and photographs it in reality.

“There is a lot of positive energy in nature that constantly inspires me. The human habitat leaves a huge impact on ecology and sociology. Yes, my photography work is specific to the architecture of human habitat and nature,” Ashish adds.

When it comes to getting better at his work, Ashish believes that a person should continuously work hard, regardless of the rewards. It is important that the person is always motivated to achieve his goals. He advises aspiring artists to overcome the fear of failure and face it with bravery. Success comes to those who have faced failure and grown through these failures. According to him, the definition of success is not standardized. It can be different for different people, the only thing common is constant growth and zeal to achieve success.

As it is said Rome wasn’t built in a day, so is achieving success. It takes time and dedication. While one is on his/her journey towards success, Ashish believes one should enjoy the journey. Every aspiring person must find his own journey of success as the world is a wide arena of opportunities.

In the Coming Years

As every person has a plan, so does Ashish. His future goal is to represent his work on a global level. He wants his photography to be recognized worldwide. As architectural photography is still not well known to the common masses, he wants to make his mark in this domain.

Ashish also wants to bring awareness about sustainable and green architecture in the society. This will ultimately help in maintaining the harmony between humans and nature. Along with this, he is working towards growing is clientele base on an international level. This will, in turn, provide him an international platform.

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